Tales of Captain Black

Last updated
Tales of Captain Black
Tales of Captain Black.jpg
Studio album by
James Blood Ulmer
Released1979
RecordedDecember 5, 1978
Genre Jazz
Length33:32
Label Artists House
Producer John Snyder & Ornette Coleman
James Blood Ulmer chronology
Revealing
(1977)		Tales of Captain Black
(1979)		 Are You Glad to Be in America?
(1980)
DIW Records Cover
Tales of Captain Black DIW.jpg

Tales of Captain Black is an album by American guitarist James Blood Ulmer (credited simply as "James Blood" on the cover), featuring Ornette Coleman, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, and Denardo Coleman, recorded in 1978 and originally released on the Artists House label. [1] It was coproduced by Ornette. [2] The album was remastered and rereleased on CD with a new mix by Joe Ferla approved and co-produced by Ulmer on the Japanese DIW label in 1996.

Contents

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [3]
Christgau's Record Guide A− [4]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]

The Globe and Mail wrote that "the guitarist has taken Hendrix several steps further; he creates textures instead of solos in which only the merest of melodic fragments survive." [6]

The AllMusic review by Thom Jurek stated: "Safe to say, there are no weak tracks on Tales From Captain Black, and even the redo of 'Revealing' from Ulmer's previous album show an unbridled excitement and an extrapolation of that tune's rhythmic and harmonic elements into something more sinister, more driven, more angular, more mercurial. Captain Black marks the real beginning of Ulmer's career as a leader. It has been a bumpy, restless ride since that time with many creative and professional ups and downs, but it hardly matters. Records like this one make him the most visionary and brilliant electric guitarist in a generation." [3] Trouser Press wrote: "Ulmer's debut finds him heavily indebted to the saxophonist. Tales of Captain Black offers Ulmer's trademark knotted, choked phrasing as a rough-hewn foil to Coleman's pure, free melodocism, but he hasn't fully discovered his own voice yet." [7]

Track listing

All compositions by James Blood Ulmer
  1. "Theme from Captain Black" - 3:14
  2. "Moons Shine" - 3:52
  3. "Morning Bride" - 4:57
  4. "Revelation March" - 4:32
  5. "Woman Coming" - 3:38
  6. "Nothing to Say" - 4:13
  7. "Arena" - 4:24
  8. "Revealing" - 4:42
Recorded at R.P.M. Sound Studios, Inc., New York City, December 5, 1978.

Personnel

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References

  1. ↑ James Blood Ulmer discography. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  2. ↑ Palmer, Robert (4 Oct 1981). "A Very Special Guitarist". The New York Times. p. A29.
  3. 1 2 Jurek, Thom, "Tales of Captain Black Review", AllMusic. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
  4. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1981). "James Blood: Tales of Captain Black". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the '70s. Da Capo Press. ISBN   978-0-306-80409-0.
  5. ↑ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide . USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p.  197. ISBN   978-0-394-72643-4.
  6. ↑ Miller, Mark (3 Oct 1981). "Tales of Captain Black James Blood". The Globe and Mail. p. F6.
  7. ↑ Margasak, Peter; Graham Flashner (2007). "James Blood Ulmer". Trouser Press . Trouser Press LLC. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
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